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UCLA Comeback Bid Misses By Inches, BYU Prevails 17-16

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Eathyn Manumaleuna blocked a field goal as time expired to give No. 19 BYU a 17-16 victory over UCLA on Saturday night in the Las Vegas Bowl.

Kai Forbath made field goals of 52 and 50 yards to keep the Bruins in it and UCLA drove almost the length of the field in the final 2 minutes to line up Forbath for the potential winner. But Manumaleuna got his hand on the kick and the Cougars got their first win over the Bruins since Steve Young was the quarterback.

Max Hall threw for two touchdowns and the Cougars (11-2) closed the season with their 10th straight win despite getting shut out in the second half and having their lowest offensive output of the year.

BYU managed just 265 yards against the Bruins (6-7), who were playing for interim coach and defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker. If it was Walker's only game as UCLA's coach, it was a memorable one.

The Bruins forced two turnovers, pressured Hall all game and nearly pulled off the upset with their fourth-string quarterback.

Walk-on McLeod Bethel-Thompson drove the Bruins from their own 2 in the final 2 minutes, completing an 36-yard pass to Logan Paulsen on a third-and-8 play with 30 seconds left to give UCLA a chance at finishing with a winning record.

It didn't quite happen. Forbath's kick was low enough for Manumaleuna to get a piece of it and keep the ball from getting through the uprights. Forbath had three field goals.

BYU improved to 2-7 against UCLA, beating the Bruins for the first time since 1983 when Young passed for 270 yards and two touchdowns. The Cougars also avenged a 27-17 loss to UCLA in the second week of the season, one of just two losses this year for BYU.

BYU wide receiver Austin Collie drops a pass after being interfered with by UCLA safety Dennis Keyes during the first half. (AP Photo/Sam Morris)

The Cougars won the Las Vegas Bowl for the second straight year. The last time BYU ended consecutive seasons with bowl wins was 1983 and 1984, when BYU won its only national title.

Chris Markey ran for 117 yards for UCLA, the first runner to break the 100-yard mark against BYU this season. UCLA needed the running game to stay in it with its top two quarterbacks on the sideline with knee injuries.

Osaar Rasshan started and failed to complete his lone pass. Bethel-Thompson replaced him in the second quarter and was solid enough to keep the Bruins close, especially with the way the defense was playing.

UCLA got a huge break at the end of the first half when the Cougars decided to run a play instead of running out the clock inside their own 10. Hall handed off to Harvey Unga and Brian Price stripped the ball, which the Bruins recovered at the 4.

UCLA scored on a pass from Bethel-Thompson to Brandon Breazell as the second quarter ended and the Bruins were only down 17-13 at halftime instead of 17-6.

It was karma for a UCLA blunder that led to an easy score for BYU. Terrence Austin dropped a punt and BYU recovered at the UCLA 14, where Hall lofted a pass on first down to the back corner of the end zone and Austin Collie caught it running at full speed.

Hall went tumbling into the padding outside the sideline, but came up with the ball and gave BYU a 10-3 lead with 10:32 left in the second quarter. BYU scored again with 1:03 left on a 13-yard pass from Hall to Michael Reed.

The Cougars forced the Bruins to punt late in the quarter and could have run out the clock, but tried the risky handoff instead.